McDonalds v. H.R. Pufnstuf

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Transcript of McDonalds v. H.R. Pufnstuf

Summary of Case McDonalds v.H.R. Pufnstuf Created by Cameron Weeks andKelsey-Anne LeBlanc Issues of Case Outcome of the Case Opinion of the Case McDonaldland characters were found to have infringed on Sid & Marty Krofft Television Productions, Inc.'s copyright of the showThe court stated that no ordinary person, let alone a child, would notice any contrast between Mayor McCheese's diplomatic sash and Pufnstuf's cummerbundMcDonald's was ultimately ordered to pay the Kroffts more than $1 million in damages when the case was finally settled in 1977The magical place of McDonaldland was brought to an endMany of the characters were phased out from the commercialsRonald McDonald, Grimace, Hamburglar, and the French Fry Gobblins were the only characters to remain after the lawsuit http://itsjustnc.blogspot.com/2009/01/mcdonald-character-expos.html http://bigdigital.blogspot.com/2005_11_01_archive.html Before the Lawsuit After the Lawsuit McDonald's hoped the Kroffts would license its characters for commercial promotions, but they declined so McDonaldland was created anywayIt purposely was taken from the H.R. Pufnstuf show in an attempt to get the same appealThe Kroffts sued McDonald's by arguing that the McDonaldland idea was completely taken from their television showLater, a federal appeals court stated that previous Kroffts employees were hired to design and create the McDonaldland sets and costumesAdditionally, the same voice expert for H.R. Pufnstuf helped create McDonaldland character voices similar to the Kroffts'The characters are played by puppets or costumed performers, very much like the H.R. Pufnstuf television programMore specifically, they claimed that Mayor McCheese from McDonaldland was a direct copy from their character H.R. Pufnstuf, who is also a mayor Sid & Marty Krofft Television Productions, Inc. v. McDonald's Corp., 562 F.2d 1157, decided by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1977 www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonald's_legal_caseswww.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonaldlandwww.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.R._Pufnstufwww.straightdope.com/columns/read/1343/was-mcdonaldland-plagiarized-from-the-old-h-r-pufnstuf-kids-tv-showwww.legalminute.blogspot.com/2010/03/hr-pufnstuf-vs-mcdonalds.htmlwww.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HRPufnstufwww.coolcopyright.com/cases/chp5/kroftmcdonalds.htm www.shenmuedojo.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=859159 www.ratherchildish.tumblr.com/post/845621134/geekleetist-via-younggirlblues-mayor Sid and Marty Kroft, two brothers, created a popular children's television show, H.R.PufnstufThe Kroft brothers were contacted by Harper and Steers, Inc., an advertising firm that wanted to create an account with McDonaldsHarper and Steers, Inc. wanted to create McDonaldland and asked the Kroft brothers if they could use the Pufnstuf characters and adapt them for McDonaldlandHarper and Steers, Inc. told the Kroft brothers that they would receive money for the use of their characters but were later informed that the McDonaldland ad campaign had been cancelledWhen McDonaldland commercials featuring the Pufnstuf characters started to appear, the Kroft brothers sued McDonalds MayorMcCheese Pufnstuf In our opinion, the court made the correct decision. McDonald's did not compensate Sid and Kroft for their Pufnstuf characters. Although, the Kroft brothers gave McDonald's permission to use their characters, the brothers thought they would be getting some kind of monetary gain. When McDonald's failed to pay the Kroft brothers, I believe the brothers acted wisely by suing the McDonald's corporation